Apple Planning to Launch New Clear Case for iPhone XR, Priced Around $40

Apple’s iPhone XR will go up for pre-order one week from today, and once the lower-cost smartphone is available customers will have the option of purchasing a see-through case sold by Apple. Spotted by Twitter user @ivanincanada and shared by 9to5Mac, iPhone XR press releases in countries like Canada mention “a clear case” priced at $55 CAD, or about $40 USD.

The iPhone XR will come in white, black, blue, coral, yellow, and (PRODUCT)RED, all made with glass bodies and matching anodized aluminum frames. Because of the colorful additions to Apple’s iPhone lineup, a clear case makes sense, offering users the chance to show off which color option they’ve chosen while still protecting their iPhone XR.

Images via 9to5Mac

Similar to Apple’s other first-party cases, the clear case has the usual cutouts for the rear-facing camera, and protrusions for the volume rockers, silence toggle, and lock button. No images shared today show off the front of the case, but it appears that there is a gap in the bottom of the case — like the company’s silicone and leather case options — allowing for access to the Lightning port and more comfortable swipe-up gestures, which are crucial for navigating iOS on the iPhone X, XS, and XR.

Apple announced the iPhone XR alongside the iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max at an event in September. The latter two smartphones have already launched, and Apple has debuted a new line of silicone and leather cases for the devices, in as many as nine new colorways for each type of case. The iPhone XS and XS Max also have the folio case option, which protects the display of the device using a leather flap.

Those waiting to pre-order the iPhone XR can expect more case styles besides the clear case to debut on Apple.com, likely including these silicone and leather options. Apple is positioning the iPhone XR as the entry-level device in the 2018 iPhone lineup, pricing the device at $749 for the cheapest storage capacity. This means that the iPhone XR comes with a few trade-offs to get the price down (compared to the $999 iPhone XS and $1,099 iPhone XS Max), including an LCD display, aluminum frame, single lens camera, and “Haptic Touch” instead of 3D Touch.